SI vs AI

SI vs AI: what does “SI” mean?

By the Keplar Team · Published · Updated · 5 min read

This is a fast-moving topic. Written 3 October 2026 from the text of the order published in the Federal Register; we have not tried to predict what follows. The order asks for proposed legislative language on a federal definition within 60 days of its date {{eo14434}}, so this page is likely to need an update around late November 2026.

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The three meanings

What “SI” can mean
MeaningWhere you see itWhat it refers toSource
SuperintelligenceAI research, safety and policy writingA hypothetical intellect that greatly exceeds humans in virtually all domains. Not achieved per most sources.[2] [3]
Super Intelligence (US executive branch term)US federal documents and websites after the September 2026 orderDefined as the technologies and systems the statute already calls artificial intelligence[1]
International System of UnitsScience, engineering, school, measurementThe metric system: meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, candela[4]

If you came here for the units, this site cannot help. If you came for AI, read on.

What the executive order says

Executive Order 14434, "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence", was signed on 29 September 2026 and published in the Federal Register on 2 October 2026 (91 FR 63129) [1]. The White House also lists it among its presidential actions [5]. According to its text:

  • Policy (Section 1): the executive branch shall use the terms "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI", to the maximum extent permitted by law.
  • Implementation (Section 2): departments and agencies use the new terms in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports and other non-statutory documents. Previously issued regulations, Presidential actions, contracts, grants and historical documents do not have to be changed.
  • Definition (Section 3(a)): "Super Intelligence" and "SI" mean the technologies and systems encompassed by "artificial intelligence" as defined in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3), unless superseded by later Presidential action or an Act of Congress.
  • Next step (Section 3(b)): within 60 days, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology is to submit proposed legislative language for a federal definition of the new terms, including an assessment of whether the definition should modify or expand the existing statutory definition of AI.

The order's purpose section describes frontier systems as increasingly representing "not merely artificial intelligence, but a new era of Super Intelligence" [1]. The operative definition, however, points to the existing legal definition of AI. So, as written, it is a naming directive for the executive branch rather than a new technical category, and it does not itself say that any system is superintelligent in the sense Bostrom used.

How this differs from superintelligence in the research sense

  • Research sense: a capability claim. Superintelligence would greatly exceed human cognitive performance across virtually all domains [2].
  • Executive branch sense: a label. The covered systems are those the existing law already calls AI [1], which includes today's tools such as chatbots and image generators and much narrower software.
  • So "the government now says SI" and "superintelligence exists" are different statements. Which one a headline means depends on its context; read the definition if it gives one.

Reading "SI" correctly in practice

  • Federal agency pages after 2 October 2026: expect SI where earlier pages said AI. Treat it as AI unless the page says otherwise.
  • Safety, philosophy and lab publications: expect SI or ASI to mean superintelligence in Bostrom's sense, as on What is superintelligence?.
  • Search engines: add context words ("SI AI", "superintelligence SI", "SI units") because the letters alone are ambiguous.

How Keplar uses these words

Keplar is a private product, not a government site, so it uses "AI" for AI and "superintelligence" in the research sense. Keplar is not superintelligence. It consults several existing AI models and writes one answer, with the agreement and disagreements shown. Nothing about the order changes how Keplar works.

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Sources

All links were opened on unless a note says otherwise.

  1. Executive Office of the President, published in the Federal Register. Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence (Executive Order 14434, 91 FR 63129). signed 29 September 2026; published 2 October 2026. Primary source · accessed October 3, 2026
  2. Nick Bostrom, Oxford University Press. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. 2014. Primary source · accessed October 3, 2026 · The definition quoted here is from chapter 2, "Paths to superintelligence". The publisher page blocks automated readers, so the passage was checked against an online excerpt of the chapter; check it against your own copy before quoting it.
  3. IBM Think (Tim Mucci and Cole Stryker). What is artificial superintelligence?. 14 December 2023. Secondary source · accessed October 3, 2026
  4. Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). The International System of Units (SI). current edition. Primary source · accessed October 3, 2026
  5. The White House. Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence (White House presidential actions page). September 2026. Primary source · accessed October 3, 2026 · Opened to confirm the order is published there; the quoted text is from the Federal Register version.

Questions

What does SI stand for in AI?

Usually superintelligence. In US executive branch documents after September 2026 it is the directed replacement term for "AI", defined as the same technologies.

Is SI the same as ASI?

In research writing, mostly yes: both mean a system far beyond humans. In the executive order's usage, no: SI there means what the law already calls artificial intelligence.

Does the executive order say superintelligence has been achieved?

Not in its operative text. It describes systems as increasingly representing a new era of Super Intelligence, but defines the term as the existing statutory AI definition.

Does the order change existing laws or contracts?

According to Section 2(b), it does not require altering previously issued regulations, Presidential actions, contracts, grants or other historical documents.

Does this change anything about Keplar?

No. Keplar is a private multi-model AI workspace and keeps using the word AI.